Marine Corps Base Quantico -- Carol Wilander saw the gathering of people at the finish line as she closed out her fifth Marine Corps Marathon and didn’t think much of it.
The Marine Corps Combat Development Command employee had no idea that she was about to be recognized by Col. David W. Maxwell, base commander, Marine Corps Base Quantico, with the Penguin Award that is presented to the last official finisher of the race. With her time of 6 hours, 59 minutes, 41 seconds, Wilander just beat the cutoff of seven hours allotted to runners wishing to have their times officially recorded.
“I thought [the group of people at the finish line] was just to welcome me to the Marine Corps Marathon Runners Club,” she said of the exclusive club limited to runners with at least five MCMs to their credit. “I was stunned to hear it was for the Penguin Award.”
The award is in honor of Maj. Megan McClung, the first female Marine officer killed in Iraq and the first female graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy killed in action since the school was founded in 1845. An avid runner who organized the first forward Marine Corps Marathon while deployed, McClung was serving as a public affairs officer in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom when her Humvee struck a massive improvised explosive device near Ramadi, Iraq on Dec. 2006, instantly killing her and the two soldiers traveling with her.
It was prior to the first forward marathon in Iraq in 2006 that McClung asked her mother, Re, to send her a stuffed penguin so that she might honor the last person who finished the race for their determination and refusal to quit. Re McClung has since continued the tradition her daughter began and was among those at the finish line awaiting Wilander on Oct. 26.
“The award means a lot more to me now that I know the story behind it,” Wilander said.
Writer: jhollis@quanticosentryonline.com